Tech execs going into (space) mining

Afraid of an asteroid hitting Earth, destroying our world – or maybe just ones’ home or car?

Well, one group, endorsed by the likes of Google co-founder and Chief Executive Larry Page, Google Chairman Eric Schmidt and even film director James Cameron, isn’t afraid of those flying space objects.

In fact, Planetary Resources Inc. says there are riches to be had in asteroids. The Seattle-based group announced a plan to mine what are called “near-Earth asteroids” for raw materials, “ranging from water to precious metals.”

In a statement, Planetary Resources said “a single 500-meter platinum-rich asteroid contains the equivalent of all the platinum group metals mined in history.”

“Many of the scarce metals and minerals on Earth are in near-infinite quantities in space,” co-founder Peter Diamandis said in a release. “As access to these materials increases, not only will the cost of everything from microelectronics to energy storage be reduced, but new applications for these abundant elements will result in important and novel applications.”

Eric Anderson, another co-founder, also water as “perhaps the most valuable resource in space,” adding, “Accessing a water-rich asteroid will greatly enable the large-scale exploration of the solar system.”

The group says that of about 9,000 “near Earth asteroids, more than 1,500 “are energetically as easy to reach as the Moon.” Planetary Resources says it has developed “the first line in its family of deep-space prospecting spacecraft” dubbed the “Arkyd-100 Series.”

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